Beavers continue non-conference play with North Dakota
The No. 20 Bemidji State University men’s hockey team (0-2-0) continues its 2021-22 season with its second consecutive top-10, non-conference opponent Oct. 15-16. Friday, the Beavers host No. 7 University of North Dakota (2-0-0) at Sanford Center to begin home-and-home series. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. The teams make the trip to Grand Forks, N.D. and Ralph Engelstad Arena for the series finale at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.
In a series that dates back to 1970, North Dakota holds a 33-4-6 advantage over BSU. The Beavers are 2-10-2 when hosting UND, while they are 2-23-3 versus the Fighting Hawks in Grand Forks, N.D., including two of the last three being pushed to overtime and a 1-1 tie at Ralph Engelstad Arena Oct. 13, 2018. Despite the win-loss differential, 12 of the last 19 meetings have been decided by one goal or less. BSU is 3-5-5 in those games. The teams played an exhibition at The Ralph to open the season, Oct. 2. Riese Gaber and Alex Ierullo scored second-period goals for their respective teams to enter the third period with the score locked 1-1, but Jake Sanderson cast the deciding tally at the 11:02 mark of the third to tilt the contest in the Fighting Hawks’ favor in yet another one-goal matchup.
The Beavers were swept by No. 5 University of Minnesota Duluth last weekend to kick off the 2021-22 campaign. BSU got goals from Eric Martin and Will Zmolek, but a pair of third-period tallies by the Bulldogs, including an empty-net goal late, contributed to a 4-2 loss for Beavers Friday at Sanford Center. Saturday, BSU’s 2020-21 leading scorer, Alex Ierullo (7g-17a), tied the game 1-1 midway through the second period, but UMD again won the third and completed the sweep with 2-1 victory at AMSOIL Arena.
No. 7 North Dakota arrives in Bemidji, Minn. for the non-conference series toting a 2-0-0 record after sweeping Niagara University at Ralph Engelstad Arena last weekend. The Fighting Hawks’ attack is led by Jake Sanderson, Ashton Calder and Jake Schmaltz, who are each averaging 1.00 goal per game this season. Sanderson added a pair of assists in the series to match Riese Gaber (1g-3a) to top the UND scoring list. Former Beaver Zach Driscoll has started both of UND’s games in net. He is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .950 save percentage.